Long-Term Assessment of Alternative Strategies for the Restoration of Floodplain Forest in the Presence of an Invasive Grass, Phalaris arundinacea

Matthews, Jeffrey W.; McIntyre, Susan; Peralta, Ariane L.; Rodgers, Cassandra S.

doi:10.1007/s13157-019-01204-4

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 90 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Given the far-reaching impacts of wetland invasions, limiting future invaders (i.e., the ecosystem function of biotic or invasion resistance; Levine et al, 2004) should be considered when designing seed mixes. Reintroducing a diversity of species, particularly those that can best "fill the space" and limit light, nutrients, and even water for future invaders, is ideal ( Figure 3C; Shipley et al, 1989;Shipley and Parent, 1991;Iannone and Galatowitsch, 2008;Byun et al, 2013Byun et al, , 2018Hess et al, 2019;Matthews et al, 2019).…”

Section: Choosing Native Plants For Functional Goals Including Invasimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seed-based approaches are less expensive and more logistically feasible in treating larger areas than other wetland revegetation techniques (e.g., planting plugs, transplanting rhizomes, and installing sod mats) despite the high cost of native seed (Godefroid et al, 2011;Merritt and Dixon, 2011;Broadhurst et al, 2016;Nevill et al, 2018). However, seeding results can be unpredictable and mortality high Primack, 2000, 2012;Tilley and Hoag, 2006;Godefroid et al, 2011;Peralta et al, 2017;Matthews et al, 2019;Sloey and Hester, 2019;Greet et al, 2020). The seed and seedling stages of plants are a demographic bottleneck and often few seeds survive to become seedlings (Figure 1; Leck et al, 2008;Palma and Laurance, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Need to Seed? Ecological, Genetic, and Evolutionary Keys to Seed-Based Wetland Restoration

Kettenring

Tarsa

2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As we approach the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), there is renewed focus on improving wetland restoration practices to reestablish the habitat and climate mitigation functions and services that wetlands provide. A first step in restoring these functions and services is to reestablish the native vegetation structure and composition through strategic seed-based approaches. These approaches should be driven by ecological, genetic, and evolutionary principles, along with consideration for economics, logistics, and other social constraints. Effective seed-based approaches must consider the chosen species, seed sourcing, dormancy break and germination requirements, seed enhancement technologies, potential invaders, seeding densities, and long-term monitoring. Choice of species should reflect historical plant communities and future environmental conditions, species that support functional goals including invasion resistance, and seed availability constraints. Furthermore, seeds should be sourced to ensure ample genetic diversity to support multifunctionality and evolutionary capacity while also considering the broad natural dispersal of many wetland species. The decision to collect wild seeds or purchase seeds will also impact species choice and genetic diversity, which can have cascading effects for functional goals. To ensure seedling establishment, seed dormancy should be addressed through dormancy breaking treatments and the potentially narrow germination requirements of some species will require targeted sowing timing and location to align with safe sites. Other seed enhancements such as priming and coatings are poorly developed for wetland restoration and their potential for improving establishment is unknown. Because wetlands are highly invasion prone, potential invaders and their legacies should be addressed. Seeding densities should strike a balance between outcompeting invaders and preserving valuable seed resources. Invader control and long-term monitoring is key to improving revegetation and restoration. Here, we review scientific advances to improve revegetation outcomes, and provide methods and recommendations to help achieve the desired goals. Gaps in knowledge about seed-based wetland restoration currently exist, however, and untested practices will certainly increase risks in future efforts. These efforts can be used to better understand the ecological, genetic, and evolutionary processes related to wetland seeds, which will bring us one step closer to seed-based restoration of functions and services needed for human and ecological communities.

show abstract

Section: Choosing Native Plants For Functional Goals Including Invasimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Need to Seed? Ecological, Genetic, and Evolutionary Keys to Seed-Based Wetland Restoration

Kettenring

Tarsa

2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Even without follow-up treatments Phalaris declined, enabling overstory establishment and regeneration within 16 years. Long-term restoration success is often limited by seedling establishment, which is subject to climate variability (Orrock et al, 2023), deer herbivory (Cogger et al, 2014;Miller-Adamany et al, 2019;Thomsen et al, 2012) or competition from invasive species (Fierke & Kauffman, 2005;Langmaier & Lapin, 2020;Lázaro-Lobo et al, 2021;Matthews et al, 2019;Miller et al, 2023). The presence of overstory species in the sapling and seedling layers at our site, therefore, suggests Phalaris will continue to be suppressed via light limitation (Figure 1) as this forest matures (Flory & Clay, 2010;Young et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Suppression of reed canarygrass by assisted succession: A sixteen‐year restoration experiment

Palacio‐Lopez,

Hovick,

Mattingly

et al. 2024

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Assisted succession could enable long‐term restoration where successional trajectories stall due to competition from invasive plants. Many invasives are shade‐intolerant; therefore, interventions reducing light availability should suppress invasion and re‐establish successional processes. However, given how ubiquitous nonlinearities are in ecology, restoration success also depends on identifying critical system thresholds, for example invader abundances below which regeneration of desired species is possible. We report the successful use of assisted succession to restore a swamp forest invaded by Phalaris arundinacea (reed canarygrass; hereafter Phalaris), initiated by a high‐density planting of woody species to outcompete Phalaris by reducing light availability. We established five pre‐planting treatments in a Phalaris near‐monoculture in Wisconsin, USA: herbicide‐only, herbicide+plough, herbicide+burn, mow+herbicide and control. In 2003 we planted 22 tree and shrub species at high densities, then in 2019 we censused the site to: (1) screen for long‐term differences among treatments, (2) evaluate long‐term effects of our interventions on community composition and (3) characterize the critical thresholds that enable invader suppression and restoration success. Vegetation responses and light availability across our four pre‐planting invader removal treatments did not differ. Late fall glyphosate application suppressed Phalaris long enough that a dense canopy of native woody species could establish and eventually out‐shade it. Overstory tree and shrub densities of 0.071/m2 suppressed Phalaris to 50% cover, but, due to nonlinearities, much higher densities were needed to reduce light availability and thus Phalaris cover enough to shift the system from being invader‐dominated. Compositional similarities between juvenile woody species and the overstory suggest a long‐term restoration success. Synthesis and applications. Invasive species management and the restoration of target plant communities can be aided by assisting successional trajectories that have stalled. We document a restoration strategy for forests invaded by shade‐intolerant invaders that is both effective and economical, as only a simple site preparation and single planting effort is required. Establishing a dense canopy of woody species in this way can break the feedbacks maintaining invader dominance and re‐introduce feedbacks enabling long‐term ecosystem recovery. We also illustrate the value of identifying critical thresholds influencing the abundance and impact of key invasive species.

show abstract

“…For instance, although late summer or early fall is optimal timing for systemic herbicide application efficacy to control many common wetland invaders (Adams and Galatowitsch, 2006;Rohal et al, 2019a;Bansal et al, 2019), treatment application timing is often governed by seasonal labor availability, which peaks earlier in the summer. Studies are needed that evaluate a range of treatment and management options to allow practitioners to weigh trade-offs in effectiveness vs. other constraints (e.g., Jardine and Sanchirico, 2018;Matthews et al, 2020). From an ecological standpoint, the most successful treatment (e.g., hand-pulling individual plants) may be entirely impractical for practitioners due to costs and logistics (Kettenring and Adams, 2011) or for more complex reasons, such as whether treatments are prohibited by the current government (Gibbons et al, 2008).…”

Section: Recommendations Expensive and Infeasiblementioning

confidence: 99%

We Can Better Manage Ecosystems by Connecting Solutions to Constraints: Learning from Wetland Plant Invasions

Adams

Hovick

Anderson

et al. 2021

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wetlands provide critical wildlife habitat, improve water quality, and mitigate the impacts of floods, droughts, and climate change. Yet, they are drained, filled, dredged, and otherwise altered by humans, all of which contribute to their high susceptibility to plant invasions. Given the societal significance of wetlands and the disproportionately large amount of time and money spent controlling invaders in remaining wetlands, a fundamental shift must occur in how we approach restoration of plant-invaded wetlands. The need for more research is often used as an excuse for a lack of progress in invader management but, in fact, constraints to invader management are spread across the science, management, and stakeholder engagement domains. At their intersection are “implementation gap” constraints where the monumental efforts required to bridge the gap among scientists, managers, and community stakeholders are often unassigned, unrewarded, and underestimated. Here we synthesize and present a portfolio of broad structured approaches and specific actions that can be used to advance restoration of plant-invaded wetlands in a diversity of contexts immediately and over the long-term, linking these solutions to the constraints they best address. These solutions can be used by individual managers to chart a path forward when they are daunted by potentially needing to pivot from more familiar management actions to increase efficiency and efficacy in attaining restoration goals. In more complex collaborations with multiple actors, the shared vocabulary presented here for considering and selecting the most appropriate solution will be essential. Of course, every management context is unique (i.e., different constraints are at play) so we advocate that involved parties consider a range of potential solutions, rather than either assuming any single solution to be universally optimal or relying on a solution simply because it is familiar and feasible. Moving rapidly to optimally effective invasive plant management in wetlands may not be realistic, but making steady, incremental progress by implementing appropriate solutions based on clearly identified constraints will be critical to eventually attaining wetland restoration goals.

show abstract

Long-Term Assessment of Alternative Strategies for the Restoration of Floodplain Forest in the Presence of an Invasive Grass, Phalaris arundinacea

Cited by 9 publications

References 90 publications

Need to Seed? Ecological, Genetic, and Evolutionary Keys to Seed-Based Wetland Restoration

Need to Seed? Ecological, Genetic, and Evolutionary Keys to Seed-Based Wetland Restoration

Suppression of reed canarygrass by assisted succession: A sixteen‐year restoration experiment

We Can Better Manage Ecosystems by Connecting Solutions to Constraints: Learning from Wetland Plant Invasions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About